Verona

Boring paint does not work in Italy!

You may remember that Verona is the place where the famous balcony of Romeo and Juliet can be found. Of course the story is fictional but it is supposedly based on the feuds between two very real families in this area. "Family Feuds" do seem to have their place in Italy after all.

The balcony is cute and little and in a tiny alley and crowded! In fact, the entire area was very crowded which surprised us on New Year's Day when almost everything was closed for the holiday. It was too dark to take good photos when we walked over to it.


The city is known for its cultural and performing arts and Laura and Robert plan to return to Verona in the the spring to see the play 'Romeo and Juliet.' How romantic is that? ♥

The older and most fun part of what we saw in Verona is behind the old city wall. You enter through an archway and back in time.

First 2 photos borrowed from virtourist.com

We had our usual tailgate picnic
compliments of our tour guide, Miss Laura, and then
set out to explore this wonderful old city.

Walking into the walled area of the city

Many things about Verona set me into designer mode
regarding our current bathroom project at home.

(The metallic starburst seemed wildly out of place here.)

The Colors of the Arena

There are way too many coliseums in Italy~
by the way...{{shudder}}

The Stone

The Brick

The Marble Sidewalks~
I ask you...
How fair is it that their mountains
are marble and ours are dirt?
How can sidewalks be gorgeous?

They just are!

Not a single store along this shopping
alley was open but it did not deter the strolling
and window shopping one bit in this area
of high end designer shops.

The Contraband of Italy~Gelato!

We had to sneak around and go in small groups to eat it, as Spencer cannot have it and it is so hard on him. He is a lover of ice cream but Gelato is soy based. Ross and one other member of our party, who shall remain nameless, had a major problem concealing his/her indulgence with the exact same problem!

Flash back to 2008 and his first Gelato
Some things haven't changed that much!

Spence and Daddy discussing the ice rink conditions.

Another city's piazza offering a chance for the boys to ice skate. This one was a lot more crowded but the boys are seasoned skaters now! One man was an exceptional skater and entertained us with his speed, ease, jumps and fancy foot work!

The Piazza was full of people that wanted
to help us have a really fun time like this juggler.

And The Stilted Ladies that danced
and drummed for us...
On cobblestone. Yikes!

There is always time for a little lovin' in Verona!

A little shopping...

In your red coat in the market place!

Or to admire the architecture or
receive an historical tidbit from Robert.

One such tidbit: The whale rib hanging from this archway has been here since the 1400s. It is said that it will not fall on your head unless you have never told a lie! That is a long time to be hanging, people!

In my mind, Verona is a place not to be missed.
Loved this fun-packed and beautiful city very much.

Ahhhh, Venice!

For me, Venice should just naturally be last when recounting a trip to Italy. I don't think it is necessarily the most beautiful or the most interesting from an historical point of view, but it is definitely the most fun and unique place we have been. Rick Steves describes it as a decadent decaying jewel~held afloat by tourism. We all know that Venice is build on the water but I never gave much thought as to why. Many centuries ago the Mongolians were apparently a threat to the people of this area (and afraid of the water??) so the city was build on over 1,000,000 wooden piers out in the lagoon for protection and safety. For several hundred years Venice was a very big hub and the most important sea port in Europe for commerce. There were about 200,000 people living there in its heyday. During that time there were more than 1,000 people that attained individual wealth comparable to the Rockefeller's. The palaces or palazzi were truly decadent and very ornate and beautiful. The life style of the rich and famous was common place along the grand canal.

A Gondolier on The Grand Canal

Grand Canal Sights

Decaying Palaces of Venice

In Venice there are really only a few things to do. You can ride on the water, visit St. Mark's Square, shop and eat, listen to live music and feed the pigeons. It is also a great place for wandering around the back streets and exploring the island. I think that is one thing that made it so much fun~Limited choices~all good ones. It is very easy to get around with lots of waterway choices. You can take the water buses, a water taxi, a gondola...whatever your heart desires and your pocketbook can afford. The canal is teaming with lots of delivery, mail, commercial, police and fire boats and speed boats owned by the locals. There is never a dull moment out there and the water traffic regulations are pretty amazing with lanes and routes and the whole bit. When the siren of a police or fire boat is heard...all the boats pull over to the side just as we do in our cars. If you arrive in Venice by train like we did, everything is readily available for water travel just right outside the train station so it is a very convenient and user friendly city, even when you do not speak the language. We were glad we stayed out in the suburbs and didn't have to roll luggage around and take it on the boats, etc.

Jim at San Marco Square

Views from the top of the Tower on St Mark's Square
All the trees in Venice are under the city!

The back streets of Venice

Feeding the Funny Fat Pigeons of Venice

San Marco Square outdoor cafe. The chairs are all empty because you must buy to sit. It is primarily a bar and this photo was taken at 9:00 am. At night they have great classical concerts here with performers in powdered wigs and full regalia.

The famous Rialto Bridge
One of only three bridges crossing the Grand Canal.

~Back street canal of Venice ~
Grampa & the boys enjoyed
exploring while the moms shopped!

Today the city's population has shrunk to about 65,000 people. They have no schools in Venice so the children that live there have to go to the mainland about 20 minutes away by train. There is a causeway that connects Venice to the mainland now. The Palaces are in a state of decay and disrepair. Many are still inhabited but the residents do not live on the first floors as Venice is sinking and many of them are waterlogged especially during high tide. For the most part these places lie vacant just because they are astronomically expensive to maintain along with a fortune required for rent. Many have been turned into very expensive hotels. We have relatives, that shall remain nameless, who spent more than one thousand dollars per night to stay here.

Us about to board the train from Povada to go to Venice on day 2

Since there are no streets in Venice there are no cars and that was so nice. The tiny streets and alley ways are more like sidewalks so no horn honking or motor noise and no vespas and that was refreshing. There is something that seems so tranquil about water travel...you just cannot hurry about as people do everywhere else. There is also something very Disneyland-ish about it. When we first sailed down the canal and saw the palaces my first thought was why don't they paint these places and fix them up a bit, deck them out with lots of light, etc. Then I realized that that would ruin it and make it truly like Disneyland. They have very strict laws that do no allow any changes to the palaces without permission from the powers that be. This is truly a good thing.

Of course one of the main highlights for us was the trips to the other islands, mainly Burano, as I have previously mentioned. There is just something so magical about Venice and everyone should see it at least once in their lifetime.

It was funny but the other day I saw some Rick Steve's DVD on various other countries so I picked one up on Scotland and Ireland. We all adore Scotland so I thought it would be so much fun to watch that one. Well, can I just say that compared to all there is to see and do in Italy, our beloved Scotland paled! I don't think we have ever been anywhere like Italy before. There is so much to see and do and it truly is an eye candy land. There is so much diversity in the kind of spectacular things Italy offers from it's cliff side resorts to it's amazing art and palaces and countryside and historical monuments.

And let's not forget the amazing cuisine and the gelato! My personal favorites were melon (cantaloupe) and fragatto (strawberry.) If you cannot find something to love in Italy I would check my pulse if I were you.

Rossie's favorite gelato was....can you guess....Chocolate!

The setting sun in Venice on our last night there! What an unequaled experience!

Ciao Bella Venice! Until We Meet Again!
Original posting 5/3/2008